Bodhi Park - Rejoice

July 20th will be a significant day for all of us who hold in confidence the sanctity of the constitution that guarantees religious freedom for all. That will be the day the ground breaking ceremony will be held for Bodhi Park (http://www.bodhipark.org/.), a project by the Yayasan Belia Buddhist Malaysia to build a Buddhist centre in Shah Alam.

This project was delayed for 16 long years due to problems in securing a fair and reasonable development order from the State government of Selangor. The approval process went through the doors of at least four Menteri Besar's, many State Secretaries and heads of Shah Alam local authority, now known as Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam. Politicians from state and national level were approached to assist YBBM in solving this ridiculously long overdue issue. Not forgetting those who took the opportunity to create publicity and political mileage for themselves in the press.

The development order without any limitation on the height of the temple was finally approved on 24 April 2008. The earlier approval on 31 July 2005 had limited the height of the temple to 30 feet and two storey which the Bodhi Park building committee had rejected and submitted an appeal.

Just in case some people might have the assumption that the final approval was given by the new state government, let it be known that the preliminary approval was already in place on 4 March 2008, four days before the 12th General Election. In the many months before the general election there are already many behind the scenes efforts by the Bodhi Park Building Committee led by Goh Seng Chai to obtain the final approval. Meetings after meetings, telephone calls and short message services with political leaders from MCA and Gerakan were some of the efforts put in to get the project moving.

Those who strongly believes in the freedom of religious practice and building our respective places of worship might tend to raise these questions. If there is religious freedom why the need to go through so much difficulty and unnecessary obstacles in building a temple of our choice? Why the need to go through politicians to solve this issue when this is an administrative matter?

There is a need of a policy which clearly states the right of every religious community to build and manage their places of worship as per the nation's constitution and not at the discretion of politicians and narrow-minded civil servants. A law must be enacted to deter any person or persons from taking any measures, directly or indirectly, that will hinder the development of legally constituted places of worship. Those who flout this law should be charged in the court of law for dishonouring the nation's constitution.

All are welcome to rejoice the occasion of the ground breaking ceremony at 9:00am, 20 July 2008 at the site, No. 1A Persiaran Serai Wangi, Seksyen U12, 40170 Shah Alam. A Devotion of Lights and the chanting of Parittas by the members of Maha Sangha will be held on Saturday, 19 July 2008 at the site at 08:00pm.